Two men sought in connection to bullet that struck Washington Township home

WASHINGTON TWP. — Two men are wanted by police for questioning after a bullet struck a Washington Township home Friday night.

Kevin West, 48, was sitting in his living room at home on the unit block of Windy Acres Drive with two of his four daughters around 7:30 p.m.

His 10-year-old daughter, Ceara West, was lying down on a couch toward the back of the home which faces Pitman-Downer Road while he and his 6-year-old daughter sat on another couch directly across from it.

According to West, the family was running late yesterday and were preparing for a late dinner when his wife called the three into the kitchen for dinner.

He and his 6-year-old immediately left the living room to go eat while the 10-year-old stayed on the couch occupied with her cellphone, said West.

Only seconds after West and his 6-year-old left the room, a shot rang out and a bullet came through the back window of the home, right above the couch where Ceara was still laying.

According to West, nobody was injured and the bullet traveled through the house in the direction where he and his 6-year-old had been sitting moments before, finally coming to a stop in the front of the garage.

West said both he and his daughter narrowly escaped being struck by the bullet, and all because they were late cooking dinner.

“If it was a normal day, we would’ve been in there,” said West.

After calling the police, a number of officers began a preliminary investigation into the shooting.

The officers involved determined that the bullet came from a high-powered rifle and began investigating the area near Duffield’s Farms and Pitman-Downer Road.

West said they investigated the scene for about an hour-and-a-half before leaving, saying they currently did not have a suspect and they would continue the investigation.

The family had a rough rest of the night after the officers left, according to West.

“My daughters couldn’t sleep in the house. My wife was afraid to go to the back of the house,” said West.

The next day, West took up his own investigation, examining the trajectory of the bullet to try and pinpoint where the gunshot came from.

After questioning several of the neighbors on Pitman-Downer Road, West said he believed he had figured out where the shot had came from, a home on the 100 block of the road.

Through working with an officer from the department on Saturday, West says the department has focused their efforts on two suspects, one being the resident of the home and another man who police suspect was at the home at the time of the shooting.

“(The officer) contacted both neighbors and both said it came from the back of the house,” said West.

West said the officer contacted the resident of the home who said he was not there and would be back sometime tomorrow.

The officer then reportedly told him that if he was not available for questioning at the home tomorrow, police would approach the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office for a warrant.